Seunghyun in his stomach as he buttoned his shirt. He didn’t mean for his stomach to get so large and his face becoming surrounded by girth but he was an emotional eater and things have not been easy, to say the least.

“Seunghyun-ah. Do you still have some of your birthday money from your aunt?” Seunghyun’s omma asked softly.

“Yeah. I should.” He answered. He had a feeling as to what was coming.

“Could you possibly pay the electric bill on your way to school? It’s been due for over a week now and I’m worried that…” She asked, trying to keep her emotions together.

“Don’t worry, omma. I’ll pay it.” He said with a small smile. He hated seeing her so sad.

“Gomowo, my son. I’ll pay you back when I find a job.” She said with tears sparkling in her eyes.

Seunghyun bit his lip and nodded. He hated all of this but they should have seen all of this coming.

“I have some rice for breakfast if you are hungry.” She said to him.

“It’s okay. I ate a lot of ramen last night.” Seunghyun lied.

She smiled at him and nodded before walking to the kitchen. He let out a sigh. He didn’t like lying to her. He just had to. They were really tight on money lately. He was still rather large so he saw this as an opportunity to lose weight and help his family save money. Suddenly he felt a pair of arms lock him in a backwards headlock. His eyes widened and he tried to pull the perpetrator’s arms from his throat.

“Noona!’ He gasped. “Noona, let me go!”

“Sorry. I was just giving you a chance to practice.” She said lightly.

“Practice for what, death?” Seunghyun said, rubbing his neck.

“Ani. What if a predator snuck up on you? You wouldn’t stand a chance. He could grab you without you doing anything. You’d be dead.” She explained.

“Okay…that would make sense if I were the President of Korea or something but seriously, noona, why would anyone kidnap, let alone care to lift, all of this?” He said indicating his 110 kg body.

Hye Yoon’s face got stern. “Yah! You think that means anything to organ harvesters?” She said before giving him a forehead chestnut.

“Aah! Arasso! I got it noona. I’ll try to poke you in the eyes next time.” He said sarcastically.

Hye Yoon glared. “I don’t have time for this anyways, Seunghyun. It’s my first day at work. It’s first impressions that count. You know how much we need this, right?” She said.

“Yes, noona. I am fully aware. I’m trying to get one myself.” Seunghyun said with a sigh.

“Shh!” Hye Yoon said looking all around them as she put a hand to his mouth. “Are you crazy? You want omma to hear you talking about you getting a job?”

“I know. I’m sorry. I forgot.” Seunghyun said.

Hye Yoon sighed. “It’s okay. Just try not to slip up again. I won’t be home until around 8 tonight. Make sure to tell omma to stay quietly inside today and close all the window coverings and lock the door. Also, try to use those candles instead of the lights. I’ll pick up some more rice on the way home tonight.” She said to Seunghyun who nodded.

“I’ll tell her. I don’t think it will be too much of an issue about her staying inside as it will be about the electricity.” Seunghyun said thinking of how much his omma loved watching her dramas.

“I know. Just try.” Hye Yoon said. “My first check won’t be in for a week so we have to make do and be careful.”

She then left to look out the windows after grabbing her purse and shoes and bolting through the front door.

“Did your sister just leave?” Seunghyun’s omma asked

“Yeah, she doesn’t want to be late for her job so she told me to tell you she would be home at 8 and to stay home and try not to use any electricity.” Seunghyun mumbled, looking at his feet.

“Alright. I was just hoping she would eat some breakfast first.” She said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

Seunghyun shuffled to his room to continue getting ready for school. He held his bearbrick in his hand. He wanted to tell them but he didn’t want to get everyone’s hopes up just to have them come crashing down. No, this was going to be his little secret.